The King visits archaeological excavations at Old Uppsala

The King at the excavation site. Here, archaeologist Ann Lindkvist shows The King a GPS instrument used to produce maps of the excavation area. Photo: Uppsala County Administrative Board

On Wednesday 29 August, The King visited archaeological excavations at Old Uppsala.

The King first visited Old Uppsala Museum, where he was met by County Governor Peter Egardt and Director General of the Swedish Transport Administration Gunnar Malm. Lena Beronius Jörpeland then gave a presentation of the work involved in the excavations, which is being carried out by the Swedish National Heritage Board, Uppland Museum and Societas Archeologicas Upsaliensis. The King then visited the excavation area.

About the excavations and Old UppsalaThe Swedish Transport Administration is currently building a new double track section of the East Coast Line through Old Uppsala, and archaeological excavations are being carried out at the same time. This is the biggest archaeological excavation ever to take place in Old Uppsala, involving an area of approximately 70,000 square metres. The remains that are now being studied date from the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, and it is hoped that archaeologists will learn more about how society has changed over the course of 2,000 years.Around 40 archaeologists are working on the excavations, and the analysis and excavation work will continue until 2017.During the Iron Age, there was a rich and highly developed society around the mounds of Uppsala, in the area now known as Old Uppsala. The site retained its religious significance long after Sweden was Christianised. One of the first major excavations of the area was carried out in the summer of 1846, under the direction of the then director-general of the National Heritage Board Bror Emil Hildebrandt. Find out more about Old Uppsala on Wikipedia.The excavations are open to the public.